CAEN PARIS

CAEN PARIS

Although Allied bombing leveled three-quarters of its buildings during WWU, Caen (pop. 120,000) has skillfully rebuilt itself into a vibrant university town. Its biggest draw is the powerful Memorial de Caen. The best of Normandy’s WWII museums, it features footage of the war, displays on pre-war Europe, a haunting testament to the victims of the Holocaust, and a new wing exploring the Cold War. Take bus #2 to Memorial. (02 31 06 06 44; www.memorial-caen.fr. Open mid-July to Aug. daily 9am-8pm; Sept. to mid-July reduced hours. ‚17, students ‚15.) Flanking the ruined chateau of Caen’s most famous denizen, the twin abbeys Abbaye-aux-Hom-mes, off r. Guillaume le Conquerant, and Abbaye-aux-Dames, off r. des Chanoines, hold the tombs of William the Conqueror and his wife. (Abbaye-aux-Hommes open 9:15am-noon and 2-6pm; ‚1.55, students ‚0.80. Abbaye-aux-Dames open M-Sa 8am-5:30pm, Su 9:30am-12:30pm; free.)